"We are looking forward to start recording in the studio again. We already have arranged the songs and have been playing them live so the process is going to be slightly different from last time.", says Producer/ Singer/ Songwriter Amit Yadav.

They will also include one fan remix of their song MITA DO (from their full length album) in the EP as announced on their blog.

"The contest is really exciting - We are already getting entries within a couple of days of starting the contest, and some really cool stuff is happening. Really interesting to see how different people interpret our song, and apply their unique styles to it.", adds Yadav.

SIFAR was recently voted as the second best Rock band in South Asia in the first edition of Indiego Music Awards, and band members Amit Yadav and Anshul Bansal were also the judges for the finals of Channel [V] Launchpad (Hindi) at Nokia Indiafest 2012.

For more information, visit SIFAR's Official Website.    

Gig Procedure:
Registered bands will be shortlisted by college for competition based on the demo tracks which bands will send with application of registeration.
Shortlisted bands have to perform on 19th February in IET-DAVV Ground,Indore.
Only 6 Bands willl be shortlisted for competition.

How to Register:
Band must mail the following details to wos@abacusiet.org before midnight of 11 February 2012
At least one track recording. Original compositions will be appreciated Audio or Video. (Note: that this is an
important criteria for shortlisting)
A well-formatted, formally written document in PDF/DOC format, with:
a) The names and ages of the band members.
b) Their roles in the band.
c) Contact details: Addresses, Contact numbers, Email Id's of all band members (for convenience, in case one is unreachable).
d) A short description of the band; detailing their history, influences and achievements.

Contact Details:
Jayant Khatri: +91-8109068857
Poras Malviya: +91-9425348255
Obaid Rehman: +91-9752530700

Names of shortlisted bands will be disclosed on 12th February evening.

For more information, visit Kaleidoscope 2012's Official Website.

The band has released an official statement that Ramanan Chandramouli aka Rama will be taking over guitar duties alongside Shri.

BLIND IMAGE’s chief spokes person Kirsh says:
“We are really happy to have Rama on board. He is an amazing guitar player and most important of all, a down to earth guy. I’ve known him for over 6 years now and we’ve been friends for over 6 years now. He was my first choice to try out and it worked like magic. He exhibited great sense of professionalism during his audition. He walked in well prepared and nailed the songs. With his knowledge on different styles of guitar playing I am sure that he will add a new dimension to our music. And he is absolutely easy going and I am glad we have another awesome band mate now. Oh and he just finished his first gig with us the day before at VIT when we supported SUIDAKRA.“

Rama is a graduate from LA Music Academy, before which he was playing guitars for the band SIXTH ELEMENT – a Progressive Rock band from India.

Shri - the chief song write of the band says:

Rama enthuses everything we have ever looked for as both a guitarist and a member of the band. He is more than capable, honest and professional as hell and yet funny in his own way. Although his humour comes at the expense of the rest of us here at BLIND IMAGE many a times. Haha. But jokes aside, Rama is a wonderful addition to the band and we hope to work with him for a long long time to come. So from now on the chandramouli foundation will be handling the guitar section for BLIND IMAGE.

Rama is based out from Bangalore and also teaches guitar at the TAAQ Academy – Bangalore along side Bruce from TAAQ. We managed to extract few words from him on this:

We heard that you are primarily in to Jazz and you studied music in LA. What was your initially reaction when Krish spoke to you about the possibility of playing for BLIND IMAGE?
I wouldnt say I am primarily into Jazz or call myself a Jazz musician. I feel I still have a long way to go before I can call myself a Jazz guitar player. I did my associative arts degree in guitar performance at LA music academy where I was exposed to a lot of Jazz, Contemporary, Funk and Reggae. The last band I played for was a Reggae band which consisted of people I met at the school. So when Krish first approached me with the idea I thought he was kidding as I hadn't played Metal in ages and the only Metal I listened to were bands like Tool, Karnivool etc. So we decided that he send me the songs, I'd take a listen to them and see if I could pull it off. It took quite a bit of effort to get the technical proficiency that the music demanded and i took it up as a challenge to get to where these guys were. I think after a couple of jams its safe to say that I am getting more accustomed to the music and its starting to get a lot more comfortable for me with the genre.

How long you've known these guys? How it all happened?
I met Krishna and the previous guitar player of the band Prashant, 6 years back when I used to live in Chennai and we became really good friends. I did loose touch with him after I left to Los Angeles. I ended up bumping into him at the Metallica concert last year and we got talking about what each of us were doing with our music careers.

How do you feel about joining BLIND IMAGE? Are you looking forward to jump in to the writing process for their upcoming third album by bringing in your own influences?
After getting to know the people in the band, jamming it out and playing a gig with them, I am happy to say I am a part of a musical family again and I am excited to see whats in store in the future for me with them and the band as a whole.

BLIND IMAGE is all set to rock Dubai on 24th February 2012 where they will be headlining the Global Metal Bash Festival.

For more information, visit BLIND IMAGE's FaceBook page.    

CHTHONIC play a style of Black Metal that infuses hints of Death Metal, Folklore etc. But recently they have shifted to a newer and more friendly genre called Oriental Metal, which was portrayed nicely in their MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION album, released in 2009.

The album name TAKASAGO ARMY was taken from a fighting unit in Japanese military during second World War, where all the members were volunteers from Taiwan. The lyrics are a blending with the history of the armies with Taiwanese mythology, which brings about a certain mysticism in the songs. Adding to the flavor, quite a bulk of the lyrics are in Traditional Taiwanese, that inculcates a sense of taste and exoticness into the vocals.

The opener THE ISLAND sounds as if it has come out of a Chinese wartime movie, complete with synths, flutes and an orchestral arrangement in the background. The opening song gives a preview of what to expect next, as the album pumps on further. As the album proceeds with LEGACY OF THE SEDIQ, one can notice the increased prominence of the guitars. The riffs are melodic yet strong and aggressive. The riffs are also often punctuated with pinch of harmonics.

One difference of this album with MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION would be the input of guitar solos in this album. The guitarist Jesse (aka The Infernal) displays his technical prowess with his face ripping solos in songs like SOUTHERN CROSS. The previous album lacked in his solos. Besides the increased presence of the guitars, the usage of new instruments has also been infused. Like the Gu-Zheng, used especially on the band’s first single off the album, TAKAO. They are also well known for the usage of the Er-Hu.

The vocalist Freddy (Aka left face of Maradou) displays a higher range of vocals in this album, often with deep growls and high-pitched shrieks. On TAKAO there is a moment where vocal effects are used.There are also guest vocalists featured on the album, and unlike most metal bands, CHTHONIC has chosen to stick to the vocalists that are more well-known and respected in Taiwanese main-steam music instead, with a surprisingly good effect. Eg: 1. The vocals of Yu Tien on TAKAO provides a nice traditional feel to the song. 2. The soulful vocals of Yia Wen in KAORU emphasizes the emotions felt while remaining relevant to the songs and not feel out of place.

The drummer Dani keeps the spirit of the band energetic and aggressive with his relentless pounding on the drum skin, backed skillfully by the rumbling bass of Doris. The atmosphere of the album is maintained prettily by the usage of synths of CJ, which does not drown any other instrument, a major mistake done by most symphonic bands. The synth is rather used as a background instrument, which gives space for the other two lead instruments ( the guitar and the Er-Hu) to prosper.

CHTHONIC, with their blend of oriental music and raging Black Metal is one of admirability because it works awesomely well. The album TAKASAGO ARMY gives you every element of CHTHONIC. TAKASAGO ARMY sees the growth in the songwriting as well as in the individual instruments on the album.

Tracklist: The Great Fire
01. March
02. Faith In Fire
03. Goodbye To Death
04. Final Hours
05. Starving Vultures
06. Everything You Love Is Gone
07. Walking Dead
08. Devil And Self Doubt
09. Step Back In Line
10. Trail Of Seclusion
11. Deaf Ears
12. One By One
13. Entrenched
14. Back To Life

BLEEDING THROUGH's last, self-titled CD sold around 3,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 143 on The Billboard 200 chart.

BLEEDING THROUGH's previous effort, DECLARATION (2008), opened with 6,000 units to land at No. 101.

The brainchild of former IMPENDING DOOM and OBLIGE members, THE DEVASTATED already has two brutal singles available - DEVIL'S MESSENGER and ROOF TOP PANTY DROP. Produced by the bandmembers themselves, Chris Eck and co-produced/mixed by Daniel Castleman (AS I LAY DYING), the music was not written with the intent of impressing anyone except the band members themselves.

"Our state of mind was...let's play what we want to hear," says vocalist Greg Wilburn. "Let's write the heaviest, grooviest and ugliest songs we possibly can, and bring something fresh to this extremely watered down scene. If people 'get it' awesome... If not, fuck 'em."

DEVIL'S MESSENGER features a guest appearance by SUICIDE SILENCE frontman Mitch Lucker in the song SPIT VITRIOL.

Commented Lucker:
"Greg has been a close friend for years. When he reached out to me for the part I was ecstatic! His band is amazing and I can't wait for this record to drop. It's the best shit I've heard in a long fucking time; super original and crushing from start to finish."

Tracklist: Devil's Messenger
01. Drip. Drip.
02. Pseudo Smile Campaign
03. Swallowing Tumors
04. Failure To Thrive
05. Roof Top Panty Drop
06. Devil?s Messenger
07. Spit Vitriol
08. Zombies
09. Bloody Bag Drag
10. Tongue In Cheek
11. Caprice
12. Conductor
13. Hollowed

For more information, visit THE DEVASTATED's FaceBook page. 

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According to a press release, "With their latest album, the Spanish quintet proves that impressive Symphonic Metal need not hail from Scandinavia. The musicians revolving around vocalist Zuberoa Aznárez have refined the trademark sound first heard on their debut album, SECRETS, and brought their latest work, THE WANDERER, to a whole new level. DIABULUS IN MUSICA unites heavy riffs with sensual melodies and appealing refrains. THE WANDERER is not a mere collection of songs, but rather a passionate and sweeping Symphonic Metal album that will mesmerize from beginning to end."

DIABULUS IN MUSICA previously described the material on THE WANDERER as "full of passion, energetic, yet delicate, and also a big step forward in our music."

Artwork: The Wanderer

Tracklist: The Wanderer
01. A Journey's End (Intro)
02. Ex Nihilio
03. Sceneries Of Hope
04. Blazing A Trail
05. Call From A Rising Memory (Intro)
06. Hidden Reality
07. Shadow Of The Throne
08. Allegory Of Faith, Innocence And Future
09. Sentenced To Life
10. Ohiuka Bihotzetik
11. No Time For Repentance (Lamentatio)
12. The Wanderer

The SCENERIES OF HOPE video can be seen below.

Formed in 2006, DIABULUS IN MUSICA's debut album, SECRETS, came out in May 2010 via METAL BLADE RECORDS. The CD was engineered by Spanish producer Iñaki Llarena and was mixed by former EPICA guitarist Ad Sluijter. It was mastered by Sascha Paeth, Simon Oberender and Michael "Miro" Rodenberg at GATE STUDIOS in Wolfsburg, Germany.

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The band toured India last year and are set to perform again - 5th February at the IIT Guwahati festival and 7th february at the QBA club in New Delhi.On the eve of their return, we caught them between their flights and had a chat!

IMR: ORPHANED LAND has fallen in love with India – a second tour in a year’s span – how does that feel guys?
Matti Svatitzki: It feels really great. We love India, love the atmosphere and love the people. Some of us were in India for travels even before the shows, and we can't wait to get to India for more shows.

IMR: You’ll pleased your fans from India last time as well as added a huge new following – what exciting things can we expect from you’ll this time?
Matti Svatitzki: Last time we really had fun. The shows were amazing, and people were totally into it. I don't know what will happen now, but if you say we have increased our fan base then I hope this is the case. We're as curious as you about these shows and we'll have to wait and see.

IMR: Your recent release (THE NEVER ENDING WAY OF THE ORWARRIOR) was voted as one of the top Progressive Metal albums of 2011 – from an underground band to a ground-breaking band; tell us your journey in brief?
Matti Svatitzki: It'll be hard to sum it up in only a few words, because we exist for over 20 years and have been through a lot. We began as a Death Metal band when we were teenagers, and with the years we adopted the Middle Eastern style and blended it into our music. We recorded 4 full length albums, and performed with them all around the world. There's a lot more to be told, but you can't squeeze a career of 20 years in just a few rows.

IMR: When most of the bands perform leather clad, sporting tattoos, ORPHANED LAND has a unique stage presentation and costumes. Tell us more about it and how it reflects your culture?
Matti Svatitzki: Kobi, our vocalist, usually goes on stage wearing a galaba, which is a traditional Arab outfit. The other band members, we used to go up on stage dressed up as orthodox Jewish people, and orthodox Muslim people. We wore these outfits first of all because it's cool. It's a part of who we are and what our music is about. It is easier for audience who doesn't know us to get connected to our music.

IMR: Along with guitars, bass and drums – there are a lot of "eastern folk music" instruments we get to hear on your albums – tell us something more about them.
Matti Svatitzki: These instruments are also a lot about who we are. Middle-Eastern Folk Metal is a style which we are its pioneers, we started making it a long years ago and stayed with it since. We thought about how to bring into our music instruments that are native and from the place we come from, and we use instruments from all around the Middle East, places like Egypt, Turkey, Greece and even more. We use these instruments a lot in our albums, and also, when we can, in our live shows as well.

IMR: Your latest album was mixed by Steven Wilson (PORCUPINE TREE) – how did this collaboration take place?
Matti Svatitzki: Steven is spends a lot of time in Israel since he is working with the local artist Aviv Geffen on their project BLACKFIELD. We got close to Steven during his stays here and got him interested in our music. Steven has worked and produced legendary albums before, and it is a privilege that he is a good friend of ours, and that he's working with us. He also sang one of our songs live in our last DVD and made a perfect 10 cover.

IMR: Your music tries to find the commonality between all the Abrahamic Religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) – how did your culture/country influence you while choosing this theme for your albums?
Matti Svatitzki: Religion is a central issue in the world. Most of the world is religious, so talking about religion from our point of view is a relevant thing. Israel is a place from which Judaism and Christianity came, Jesus was born and died on the cross here, and some cities in Israel are extremely sacred for Muslims too. Places here are so sacred to people, that they are really to fight and die for them, and this is exactly where our music and message fit in. We preach for friendship and kindness between people, for ask people to keep open minds and try to see eye to eye with each other. We have many fans in the Arab world, with whom we have very warm and positive relationship, and
we look at them as our brothers, sure not as enemies.

IMR: ORPHANED LAND is classified as Doom or more commonly Progressive Metal – how would you describe your overall sound?
Matti Svatitzki: I think we have been all over the place. There were times in the past when we were considered a Doom-Death band, and in later times we were considered more Prog-Metal band. It depended on the mood we were in and the music we listened to at home when we wrote the music.

IMR: Your music treads on a religious path – did you guys encounter any hurdles while touring etc?
Matti Svatitzki: Up until now there haven't been any extraordinary events. There were some minor anti-Semite events, some guy waved a small Swastika pendant in my face and said "fuck off", and a few small things like that, but except for a few
assholes everything has been good so far.

IMR: Finally, a message from the band to their fans and budding musicians who are inspired by you guys. Thank You!
Matti Svatitzki: It is great that we have a fan base in India! We really love the place, and it is important for us that people get to know and appreciate what we do. We 4 can't wait to play for you guys soon, see you there!